Novels by Josie Quinn

DANTE"Are you hurt?" Scarlett remained silent during the whole ride; it was like her body was here, but her mind was somewhere else.I hadn't seen any woman this shaken since the time I got Fiona away from that asshole Conti."Do you want me to take you to a hospital?" I asked again."I'm fine." Scarlett replied fiercely. She looked at me as if noticing I'd been sitting next to her all this time. "I just need to get home."I nodded.When the car pulled over at a brownstone townhouse, Scarlett quickly climbed out while clutching her purse. To my surprise, Sierra was sitting on the steps, all clad in a black coat. She rose to her feet and hurried towards Scarlett with a look of relief. For some reason, Howard was leaning by the stair railing. "Scar, you're alright!" Sierra wheezed as she hugged her."Yeah." Scarlett whispered."Come on." Sierra wrapped an arm around her and led her upstairs.The ladies went in first, but Howard stretched his arm, blocking my way, glaring hard at me."

SCARLETTI should have kept my big mouth shut.After nearly an hour reviewing the CCTV footage at the club, I found nothing out of the ordinary: Just the same familiar customers on the screen, everybody doing their thing and partying. Perhaps Santini was being tagged by the Feds, but then again, who in the club wasn't?It wasn't until I walked to the parking lot that I noticed a man in a black hood leaning by my car of all places. He was smoking, blowing out small streams in circles.My pulse spiked as I became aware of the incoming danger.I simply took a deep breath and dived in another direction with quick paces. But he followed, and I ran."Sh*t" I reached into my purse and dug out my cellphone. I don't know why, but something compelled me to text Sierra.It didn't take long for the man to catch up to me. I swung around to squeeze the nozzle on my pepper spray."Gotcha!" I snapped.

SIERRASometimes the best way to get what you want is to be one step ahead. The first thing I did when I got to the club was to discreetly hide the wire where Rory Marchesi would be staying."Absolutely not," Scarlett replied.As my lips tightened into a thin line, I could feel my heart hammering in my chest. So I pretended not to have heard her by shrugging. "It's totally fine," I sighed dramatically. "I got this."Scarlett looked totally unimpressed. "I think you mean, you got the floor level."My shoulders dropped lower as I shot her a look of protest. "Come on, he's a...big tipper."Scarlett pulled on a smirk. "I know." She said, "Which is why I'm taking over from Paige."Son of a-I bit on my lower lip as anxiety slowly rose. Great, I'll just have to pray everything goes according to plan. Besides, Rory was already in the club.As I adjusted my mask, I strolled down the VIP lounge, barely looking a

SIERRA[Target keeps lovers in the grey area.]"It's about Rory Marchesi," Dante said.I searched Dante's brown eyes, so serious, like seeing a brick wall I couldn't break through. What is he planning to make me do?"Yes," I answered. "He comes to the club sometimes with friends.""Well, if he stops by, I want you to get up close and personal," Dante said as he watched me stand abruptly."And just what do you even mean by personal?" I demand."Sit down," he reached for my arm and guided me back to the couch and began to check his shirt pocket. "Nothing like that. I think he's got some plans; maybe he might get vocal about his business."Dante held a small wire to me, and the sudden spike in my heart signaled that I was going to hate whatever comes next. My entire body shook as I took the wire from him."Just hide this under his chair, and don't let anyone catch you.""Are you out of your freaking mind? He's a cold-blooded killer!""You're being so dramatic, Sierra. You're the last per

DANTE "Everybody get down!" I barked at my men, immediately ducked to the floor, and retrieved my gun from my belt holster."Frank!"I saw him crawl under a desk. "Oh hell." Frankie groaned.Something clinked; I spotted a canister roll across the floor and release a thick gray fog with a soft hiss. "Move to the walls!" I ordered everyone, as I covered my mouth with an arm.Suddenly, footsteps march in. I shut my eyes. "St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle..." I thought, then removed the safety of my gun. I listen to the sound of people charging in. I rolled out and fired once at a moving shadow in black. The body hit the ground.My men joined in, shooting when they caught a sound or movement. More gunshots rang out, and I heard someone grunt nearby. I grabbed one of the masked men and hooked my elbow into his face repeatedly and snapped his neck. I shot someone in the leg, and he went down in a yelp, and I didn't hesitate to finish him off when he tried to rise.A rifle

DANTE "You said it would be dirty!" It was midday, and I was standing in the middle of a paintball obstacle course with eight other people, dressed in combat gear. Sierra lifted up her mask with a bright smile. "Exactly. I thought, instead of a boring dinner, why not have some fun?" "Yeah, if we were between the ages of ten and fourteen," I scoffed, while checking my paintball gun. "If I wanted the thrill of shooting, I'd be using real guns, a real AK rifle, and seven-six-two caliber ammo with accurate velocity rounds. There's something exhilarating about hitting the right target." The moment I said that, the other guys took a few steps back away from me. Sierra began to laugh, nudging my chest. "He plays a lot of video games." "Okay." The game marshall drawled, watching me carefully, before turning to the others. "Alright, everyone, the goal is to eliminate the other team by tag